by Dianne Hales | Jan 11, 2022 | Books, books on Italy, culture, history, Italian, Italian folklore, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Travel, Uncategorized, Web/Tech, Weblogs
b. The start of a new year is a good time to follow the example of the Roman god Janus, whose two faces allowed him to look back to the past and ahead to the future. As 2022 begins, I recall 2009, the year when LA BELLA LINGUA was published and when...
by Dianne Hales | Oct 5, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, history, Italian, Italian American, Italian language, ItalianAmerican heritage, Italy, Language, Leonardo da Vinci, literature, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Every October the United States celebrates Italy’s heritage—with good reason. More than a mere country, Italy embodies a culture that has transformed art and architecture, language and music, food and fashion. Western civilization would surely have sprouted...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 8, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci, Religion, Roman history, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo (June 15, 1479 — July 15, 1542) My quest for the real Mona Lisa began years ago in Florence when I was doing research for LA BELLA LINGUA. An art historian who befriended me casually mentioned during a dinner at her home that the mother...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 2, 2021 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italian language, Italy, Renaissance, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
Italy’s dazzling pantheon of artistic geniuses seems a man’s world. Yet a few women with singular passion defied all obstacles and created important works of art. As a way of celebrating International Women’s Day, here are three artists whose stories I recount in LA...
by Dianne Hales | Dec 8, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, history, Italian language, Italy, literature, Renaissance, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
A guest post by Melissa Muldoon Even if you are a fan of Italy and Renaissance art, you may be wondering who Sofonisba Anguissola was, why she is important, and what would lead me to write a novel about her. Her unusual name doesn’t roll off the tongue easily. But in...
